


Losing My Mind

by CherriesJubilee (Cherries_Jubilee)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Best freinds, Brainwashing, Kidnapping, Mentions of past abuse, established McHanzo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23405005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherries_Jubilee/pseuds/CherriesJubilee
Summary: McCree was surprised to find none other then Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe, leader of the Deadlock Gang, and his best friend, lying unconscious outside Overwatch Headquarters.
Relationships: Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe & Jesse McCree, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter One

It was unusually quiet in Overwatch Headquarters. Usually, there was an emergency mission to be done, or planning to be done, or Hana had to be taken off a sugar high before she set something on fire. The rest was welcomed by Jesse McCree, who was exhausted.

In all honesty, Jesse was looking forward to a day of peace. He’d wanted to read an old novel he’d been gifted by his old friend, Elizabeth Ashe. She gave it to him shortly before he left his old gang, Deadlock. He partially regretted leaving her, since he knew how deeply she was wounded by his desertion. Ashe had strong convictions about family, and Jesse’d broken just about all of them.

He was about halfway through the first chapter before he was interrupted by a gentle knock on his door. His lovely boyfriend, Hanzo, came in smiling, and sat down next to him. A quick smooch and short conversation later, Hanzo had convinced Jesse to go out with him for the day, to go to town. Jesse couldn’t say no to his smiling boyfriend, who so rarely smiled for no reason.

They went out for the day, and got some lunch at a diner nearby. While chatting, Hanzo pointed at something out the window. “That’s a massive omnic. I don’t think I’ve seen him around here before.”

Jesse turned around to see said omnic, when his heart dropped to his stomach. It was Bob, Ashe’s closest confidante. If he was here, she was definitely nearby. “We gotta get back to headquarters.” Jesse told Hanzo, slightly more panicked than normal.

”Is he with Deadlock?” Hanzo whispered, trying to figure out what spooked Jesse so.

Jesse nodded and quickly paid for their food, before practically dragging Hanzo out of the diner. The moment he opened the door, he was face to face with Bob. “H-Hey Bob,” he said nervously, “Is-Is Ashe around here somewhere?”

Bob also had a distaste for Jesse, but per Ashe’s order, no one was supposed to murder Jesse. Ashe planned to do that personally. But if Ashe wasn’t around, nothing protected Jesse from the seven foot omnic.

Bob shook his head and gestures toward the rest of the gang. Which for some reason, had shrunk significantly since Jesse had last seen them. “McCree!” Mason, one of the gang members called out.

Jesse tried to not look afraid. “Where’ve you got Ashe?” Mason demanded in his thick western accent.

”Ashe? What make you think I know where Ashe is?” McCree asked.

”She’s missing. There was a big explosion during our last job. Only me, Hugo, Bentley, n’ Bob survived. We couldn’t find Ashe anywhere.” Mason explained.

”Overwatch doesn't know anything. Did you see who-“

Jesse was cut off from the tell-tale bang of a sniper rifle. Mason sank down in front of him as Bob armed his arm canon. Hanzo drew his bow and fired an arrow at the sniper, hoping to push her back into hiding. Another shot, Bentley barely dodged. “Quick, inside!” McCree yelled. He and Bentley lifted Mason inside the diner as Bob defended them from anymore shots.

”What is Talon doing so close to base?” Hanzo shouted, as they locked the door to the diner, trying to prevent Widowmaker from getting anymore shots on them.

”Better question is why are they attacking us and not the base? Talon never goes for just a pick, if they knew they were near headquarters they'd be trying to break down the door!” McCree yelled. They ducked for cover behind a counter when an all too familiar whooshing alerted them that there was another person in the diner.

”Reyes!” Jesse shouted, trying to get his attention while firing at his head with his six-shot.

Reyes rasped out, “Isn’t this a fun little reunion? Too bad it won’t last long!” Before firing upon the six people in hiding, Jesse heard Bentley groan as he was hit in the chest.

”Bentley!” He cried out as he reached for his former friend. It was too late.

Hugo fired upon Reaper as well, until he too was hit by a bullet. He slumped down to the floor beside Bentley. Jesse yelled in rage as he leapt with Hanzo up to avenge his fallen former friends, but Reaper had already disappeared in his usually black smoke. Jesse and Hanzo looked at each other, confused. Reaper never retreated if he was winning. Hell, Reaper never retreated if he was losing. So why did he just _leave_ , while Hanzo, Jesse, and Bob were still fighting.

A crew had been called in to help cleanup. The last three member of Deadlock Gang, save Ashe (if she was still alive) and Bob, were gone. Jesse has to admit, he would grieve their deaths greatly. He betrayed them, and now they were gone. It was all so confusing, why would Talon target the Deadlock Gang? They posed no threat, not even to civilians.

Jesse’s attempt to rationalize was cut short by Tracer tapping him on the shoulder. Her expression was solemn. “There’s someone you need to see at headquarters. Morrison said it was urgent.” She relayed.

He knew who it was. It had to be Ashe. How was she at headquarters? He ran back, telling Hanzo he’d meet him later, and sprinted all the way to headquarters.

Winston pulled him into a room where Angela was healing an unconscious Ashe. She was badly bruised, wearing a ragged, white hospital gown. Her bright white hair was matted, and she had a large cut on her face.

Jesse knew it was Talon, it had to be them. He swore that they would pay.


	2. Chapter 2

Ashe had remained unconscious for six hours after she was found. According to Angela, she’d been lying outside of headquarters. Like Talon just dumped her there and took off. It was suspiciously reminiscent of Amélie Lacroix’s fate.

Jesse waited outside her room, pacing, while Bob sat in a too small chair. When she woke up, Angela knew you summon Jesse and Bob to see her. Ashe would be hostile towards Overwatch, and Angela wasn’t in the mood to deal with a criminal with a vengeance.

Ashe sat up with a groan and opened her eyes. “Jesse?” She said, groggily.

Jesse smiled weakly. “Hey Ashe.”

It was as if a switch was flipped. Ashe immediately punched him in the side of the face and tried to stand up. “I said if I saw you again, I was gonna put a bulletin in you! Bob, where’s the Viper?” She demanded. Ashe gave no fucks about her health.

She tried removing IV and the multiple wires linking her to several monitors. Bob put his hands on her shoulder to ease her back into her hospital bed. She scowled. Bob just blinked. “Fine.” She spat, before giving up and sitting back down.

”Where the hell am I?” Ashe demanded.

Jesse was still reeling from when she hit him. “Overwatch,” He explained, “It looks like Talon left you in front of Headquarters then took off.”

”Talon? I was taken by _Talon?”_ Her voice dropped, into an almost fearful tone.

”You remember what happened?”

”It’s all blurry, but... there was an explosion, during a job,” Ashe recalled, “I got knocked out and I woke up in some kind of laboratory. Some lady with orange hair, and a face plate was standing over me with a clipboard and another guy with a mask was talking to her. After that it’s mostly a blur, medical beds, and prison cells, and...” She put her palm to her head and hissed in pain.

”I can’t remember anything else.” She finished.

Jesse nodded and put his arm around her. She wasn’t punching him anymore, so he hoped it was all out of her system. “It’s okay now, you’re with Overwatch.” He said.

Ashe snorted. “Yeah right, like they ain’t gonna stick me in prison like they did last time. I’ll be out of here in no time, didn’t stop me before.” She paused. “I gotta make sure Deadlock’s doing okay.”

Jesse swallowed. “There’s... something you need to know.” He started cautiously, “Everyone was killed in that explosion.”

Ashe’s face fell in despair. “Mason, Hugo, and Bentley survived, but Talon hunted them down. They’re gone, Ashe.” He said grimly.

Ashe didn’t cry ever. Jesse has seen her cry twice: when one of their friends was killed in battle, and when her parents kicked her out. But now, she grieved. Deadlock was her _family,_ and now there was nothing. Jesse just held her while her shoulders shock from sobbing. Bob rested a comforting hand on her back. Jesse could tell the omnic mourned the loss of his fellow members as well. And Ashe just let herself feel.

* * *

She was rather quiet for the next few days. Perhaps the loss of so many loved ones had jarred her into shock. Perhaps she’d just given up. Ashe let Angela carry on with her treatment.

”Why are you still healing me?” She asked Angela one day, completely out of the blue.

”I know how y’all work here. You’re good guys. You’re gonna put me in a prison and throw away the key. Might as well let me die in there.”

Angela gave her a sharp glare. “Overwatch is not cruel. We still heal our prisoners. Besides, we still need you for interrogation on Talon.”

”Ask McCree, I told him everything I remember. Rememberin’ gives me a headache.”

”If you really saw Moira while in Talon’s custody, there’s a chance that she may have messed with your mind.” Angela said.

Ashe went quiet again after that. The next week, after Angela finished her routine care, Captain Morrison visited her. He pulled up a chair next to her bed, and gave her a serious look. She was unphased.

”I’m prepared to offer a position with Overwatch.”

”I don’t want it.” She said plainly.

”It pays well, and you won’t go to prison.” Morrison tried again.

Ashe scoffed. “I’m not in it for the money, and you can put me in your prison for however long you want. I have nothing to live for out there.”

Morrison was confused. “What do you mean you’re not in it for the money?”

”I steal for survival. I don’t take more than I need to feed my gang and keep us happy. If I wanted money, I’d grovel to my parents for it.” She explained, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

”Then why do you steal, if you have money?”

”Freedom.” A small smile played at her lips. “If I went to my parents, they’d play the loving, supportive family they think we are. But the moment they get bored of it, they marry me off for a few acres of land and some cattle. I’d rather scrape by than marry a man with no personality.”

Morrison nodded. “You could still be free in Overwatch. Both you and Bob could stay on, and I’m sure you could fit in with us.”

”How would you describe your relationship with the Overwatch team, then?” She asked.

”They’re my only family.”

Ashe was silent for a while. “Fine.” She agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Liz was slow to forgive. It was lucky for Jesse that she had a soft spot for him, and did not throw anything at him the moment he stepped into her new room while moving in.

”So you’re finally joining Overwatch?” He asked, a bit too joking for Liz.

”Can it, traitor. We’re on the same team and that’s the only thing protecting me from shoving the Viper up your-“

”I’m sorry about that, Liz. Let’s put it all behind us, please?” Jesse begged.

”No.” Liz replied firmly, “But, since we were friends at one point... I am open to an ally. I missed you a little bit, when you left.”

The look Bob shot Jesse suggested it was more than ‘a bit.’ He smiled. “Okay. And, by the way, I missed you too. I always regretted leaving Deadlock, but give Overwatch a chance, okay? I promise you’ll like it.”

Jesse exited her room, and Liz flopped down on her bed. Her new room was cold and barren, unlike her room in the Deadlock Gang’s house. Every room in that house was filled with warmth and people. It got a bit crowded, what with three people in every room, but it was home. She missed her crew.

Overwatch was her best bet at getting back at Talon. Internally, Liz swore to crush Talon for taking her closest friends away from her.

* * *

Many member of Overwatch were skeptical of having the new recruit attend the meeting. Several people didn’t trust her, but they knew that putting her in jail wouldn’t stop her. So Ashe and Bob joined the table for the planning.

Ashe, as it turns out, was full of great ideas. She was a master of strategy, and was good at figuring out her opponents next move. Despite her rough edges, she had a biting sense of humor and could absolutely roast anyone in the room if they messed with her.

She grew closer to McCree, as expected. One day, she noticed that McCree had been flirting across the hall with Hanson Shimada.

“Do you have a crush, Jesse McCree?” She demanded, clearly delighted.

_”No.”_ He said. “I have a boyfriend.”

Ashe gasped excitedly. “This is why I told you to write! I need to know when my best friend is dating someone!” She grinned playfully. “Widdle baby Jesse finally got himself a boyfweind! It seems like only yesterday, you were crushing over a picture of—“

McCree smacked his hand of her mouth, laughing nervously. “Stop talking.” He whispered through gritted teeth. Ashe chuckled and stood up to go talk to Hanzo.

McCree put his face in his hands and groaned. His life was over. Ashe started chatting with Hanzo. McCree blushes whenever he heard them both laughing boisterously, certain Ashe was either stealing his man or embarrassing him. With Ashe, it could go either way.

That night, when Hanzo was sitting with his head in Jesse’s shoulder, he asked him, “Did you really used to have a crush on Drew Dellington?”

Jesse groaned in exasperation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I couldn’t think of a celebrity for Jesse to have a crush on so I made one up. Improvising?


	4. Chapter 4

As it turns out, Jesse and Ashe were friends for a reason. On missions they worked well together. Ashe’s skillful planning plus Jesse’s marksmanship made them unstoppable. Bob was always a delight when things got rough, especially since he was giant and could throw his opponents like cotton balls. All in all, Ashe was really fitting into Overwatch.

Then there was Talon’s ambush. Ashe, in true Ashe fashion, always had a plan for when they were ambushed. She knew exactly who to put where, and who needed to be focused on for healing. But she didn’t account for Talon. They got the strike team from above, and all immediately focused their energy on Ashe. Jesse and Bob for the most part kept her covered while she sniped some of the Talon soldiers, but she was hit from behind by Moira.

”It won’t be long now,” Moira whispered eerily. Ashe shuddered as they crazed scientist faded out of the room, while Ashe fired rapidly at her. That was the first seeds of doubt in her mind that she’d been brainwashed while she was in Talon. Ashe had read up on all the Talon operatives involved in her case, and she definitely found out about Amélie Lacroix.

A ballerina turned assassin. Found outside Overwatch one morning, then murdered her husband the next. It terrified Ashe that that could have been her, but it’d been so long since she’d joined Overwatch. She wasn’t changed at all.

The notion stuck in her head for a few days, then she put it completely out of her mind.

Jesse never noticed her behaving erratically, apart from occasionally spacing out. After her encounter with Moira, she was on edge. As expected, Moira was pretty creepy when she wanted to be.

A few nights after the ambush, Jesse was awakened by a rustling. “Hello?” He called out groggily.

He rubbed his eyes open to see Ashe standing over him, a blade in her right hand. “Whoa, whoa, Ashe, what are doing?”

Ashe snapped awake, and looked around in confusion. “What the hell?”

She looked down and saw that she was holding the blade, and screamed. Ashe threw the blade down and backed away from it. Jesse jumped out of bed and grabbed her arm. “It’s okay, you’re okay now.” He murmured.

Ashe started hyperventilating. “What if— I-I hurt someone else, what if Talon—“ She gasped.

”Moira did mess with my head! What if I end up like Amélie?!”

She was clearly panicked, having had no clue this was even happening. Jesse tried to get her to calm down, with very little results. He called a meeting to figure out what had happened.

No one was very thrilled about an early morning meeting, but after finding out that something had happened to Ashe, the entire team was on edge. The cameras revealed that she hadn’t been in a trance long enough to actually do any damage. Jesse was lucky enough to have caught her. Ashe was still freaking out over the fact she could have hurt anyone.

Angela said she’d look over Ashe’s MRI and see what she could find. She suggested that Ashe was just shell shocked right now, and just needed sleep.

“Dr. Ziegler says you just need some sleep. Do you wanna sleep in my room?” Jesse suggested.

Ashe nodded. Jesse set up a cot for Ashe and fell asleep. He woke up a bit earlier than usual, to an even more unusual sight. Ashe was sitting up, holding her gun, glancing around the room nervously. She hadn’t slept at all. “Ashe, the doc says you need sleep.” Jesse said.

“What if it happens again, or Talon did something so they could get into the base? I’m not risking it.” Ashe explained.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll take watch, okay? Nothing else is going to happen.” He reassured her.

She nodded and laid down. Jesse left the room, to find Hanzo outside his door. “Why do we bother with her? She’s smart, yes, but if she’s been brainwashed, we can’t have her in base!” Hanzo demanded.

Jesse pulled him to the side. “She’s my friend. And she lost everything, her entire family, thanks to Talon. They must’ve done it wrong, because she’s still completely in control.” He explained. Hanzo sighed and gave in.

”Fine. I’ll trust her, only because she’s your friend.”

”Thank you. I though you two got along?” Jesse questioned.

Hanzo laughed. “Ah, yes, we bonded over making fun of you and your stupid belt.”

“Wait a minute—”

Hanzo waves and walked away down the hall, most likely to training, smirking the whole way. Jesse grinned and turned back to the door. He really hoped that Ashe would be okay. She was very headstrong, and even if Talon tried to mess with her, it’d fail.

* * *

Liz woke up. She felt better. Like herself still. Not in Talon, having murdered the entirety of Overwatch in her sleep.

She shivered. Overwatch’s Gibraltar Watchpoint was cold, and it didn’t help that she was in the gray tank top and black shorts she wore for sleeping. Liz noticed she was still in Jesse’s room, but he’d left her some clothes. Just the classic Overwatch gear they gave all the new recruits, white shirt with the insignia and black pants.

Liz sighed wearily as she stood up to start the day. She glanced up at the clock. 12:16. Late for training. She changed quickly, charging out of the room. McCree was still standing outside the door like the amazing friend he was. “Late for training!” She yelled as she bolted down the hallway.

Liz scowled as she could hear McCree laughing behind her. She arrived in the training arena breathless. Captain Amari stood, arms crossed, face painted with an amused scowl. “It’s late, even for you.” She commented.

“Sorry Captain, I, um, overslept.” She explained between gasps.

“At noon?”

Liz blushed. Cripes, this woke Talon ordeal was really screwing with her entire life. “Come on, we must hurry.” Captain Amari said, gesturing for Liz to follow her.

After training, Liz had to go see Dr. Ziegler, for an MRI. She shifted her weight anxiously outside the door, while she waited for Dr. Ziegler to let her in. She opened the door, and jumped a little. “I’m sorry, Ashe, I forgot you’re not in the system yet. I’ll ask Athena to make note of it to Jack.” She apologized.

Liz blushed again, and looked down at the ground. “Mmhmm,” was all she could say.

Dr. Ziegler led her into the office, where another patient, Genji Shimada sat on the table. He waved at Liz, and she smiled at him. “Hello. You’re McCree’s friend, Ashe.” He said.

“Uh, yeah.” She connected the dots in her head. “You’re Hanzo’s brother, right?”

Genji nodded. “Yes, I am. Sorry my appointment ran over, my cybernetic arm keeps getting jammed.” He explained.

“The same thing kept happening to Bob, d’you mind if I take a look?” She asked Genji and Dr. Ziegler. They both nodded, and she looked at the joint that was giving Genji trouble.

“It’s not the arm, it’s your shoulder joint. It’s a bit corroded, and part of it is scraping into the arm, so it gets stuck. You should be able to just sand this bolt here... you don’t mind if I, Uh, take you’re arm off?” When Genji nodded, she grabbed a wrench and slowly worked the joint off. Then, she smoothed it open with a rough sanding grain, and filled in the damage done to the limb.

When Liz reattached Genji’s arm, he experimentally moved it around. “That’s much better! Thank you, Ashe.” He said cheerfully, before hopping off the table and waving goodbye to Dr. Ziegler.

Dr. Ziegler turned to Liz. “I had no idea you were good with machinery as complex as Genji’s. Thank you.”

Liz blushed hard again. “It’s nothin’. I just got tired of having to take Bob to the mechanics anytime somethin’ got broken on a job, so I learned to fix him myself.” She explained.

“It’s impressive regardless. Now, should we get that MRI done?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Liz catching feels? Oooooo... Talon prepares for more interesting plots agains Overwatch. I’ll try to keep updates consistent, sorry it’s a bit late!  
> ~Lee


	5. Chapter 5

A lead. Finally. There had been reports of a stranger, cloaked figure with a mask, a woman with blue skin, and another woman with red hair and heterochromia. Talon. And they were in Deadlock Gorge, of all places 

The only reason Overwatch had the tip was because of Ashe. The civilians who lived in the gorge were pretty chill with the Deadlock Gang. They never robbed the poor or innocent, just the wealthy who sat in their manors and hoarded their wealth like dragons. Several people remembered Ashe was with Overwatch, and so they were more than happy to send in the tips.

The team, comprised of Ashe, McCree, Genji, Angela, and Hana, set up to stake out. If they saw anything, they’d call, and the secondary strike team would rush in. Ashe suggested they stay in the old Deadlock house, that’d been the home of the Deadlock gang for a while.

Ashe unlocked the door with a key she'd kept around her neck, and pushed open the creaky slab of wood. The house was dusty, thanks to the amount of dirt storms they had, but relatively untouched. Jesse found himself wandering up the stairs to his old room.

He was shocked to see it had been completely untouched since he left. Liz has saved everything of his, instead of throwing it out. Jesse sat down on the bed that used to be his own, and grabbed the framed picture off the table. It was him an Liz, when they were fifteen, before they turned to crime. Back when they were stupid kids doing stupid things. He smiled.

Liz came up the stairs and saw Jesse had discovered his old room. “I couldn’t bear to throw it out.” She explained as she leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed. “I was so sure you were gonna show your face around here again. Come back, say you’d just been bidin’ time to avoid jail... I can’t count how many times I played a scenario when you came back in my head.”

She walked over and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Y’know, I destroyed every picture I had of you. It was so stupid; like you’d stick around after being offered such an amazing opportunity. Bob was smart, he saved a couple.” Liz sighed. “I’m glad you joined Overwatch. I never told you, but you earned it.”

Jesse grabbed her hand and smiled. “It wasn’t always this great. I used to be a part of Blackwatch, which was a secret ops division.”

Her jaw dropped and she sat up. “You? A part of a-a secret crime fighting force? I thought I’d never see the day...”

“Ha, ha. It was me, Genji, Reyes, and... well, Moira.” He felt Liz stiffen. “Moira... was dedicated to her work, to say the least. I think she would’ve stuck around, if her projects weren’t so illegal.”

“You never mentioned a Reyes before. Who was he?”

Jesse swallowed hard. A thousand memories played through his head. A man he’d admired, looked up to. A great friend. A father.

”My commander. You would’ve liked him.”

Liz stood up and brushed herself off. “We should go find the other three. I’ve been meaning to get to know Hana.”

“Prepare yourself,” Jesse chuckled. “She’s a handful.”

Liz and Jesse headed down stairs, to where the other three were making cup ramen for their lunch. Jesse hollered, “Liz, you still have that sliding door?” clearly amused.

Liz scowled. “It’s not too late for me to put a bullet in you, Jesse McCree.” She stalked over to grab a cup of noodles, ripping the top off aggressively.

Genji took off his mask and set it aside. “I want to hear the story behind the glass door.”

Jesse snickered. “Okay, so, one time, Lizzie got ahold of some rollerskates—”

“McCree, I swear I’m gonna—”

“She was so excited, and she put ‘em on in the house—”

“Jesse, no!”

“And she slid right through the glass door!” Jesse finished enthusiastically.

Liz groaned as she smacked her head on the counter. Genji roared with laughter, while Hana and Angela struggled to contain their giggles. “Gee, who was it that had that camera, Liz? I think it was Theo, and he was filming the whole thing, ‘cuz he knew Liz in roller skates was gonna have something good!” McCree added.

Liz glared as she plopped down to eat her soup. “I still have the scar from that y’know. It was very painful.”

“I'd expect, when it comes to sliding through glass doors,” Genji said.

“I bet I can scrounge up that tape, if y’all wanna see me fly through a door so badly.” Liz informed.

“I’m sure lots of you have done stupid things. Ooh! Jesse, remember that time you tried to hit on that guy and he punched you?” She said.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific. That’s happened lots of times.”

* * *

Liz chatted with Hana while the old tv played some god-awful soap opera, and Genji was looking through some old pictures. Jesse checked out the front window to see the old, dusty town they’d come up in. It looked exactly the same, down to the diner that served absolutely terrible food, apart from some half decent apple pie.

Jesse couldn’t remember how many times he and Liz shared a slice of that pie, treating it like gold, since it was the only edible thing that they could get for cheap.

A flurry of movement caught his eye. A masked man was creeping up on their house. “Guys, we got company!” He called out.

In an instant, the team was armed and ready to defend. A cloud of black smoke formed into Reaper, and Jesse fired at him. He dodged, and he heard Angela radio in to the second strike to team to start heading in.

He turned to Liz, ready to fight with her Viper in hand. She narrowed her eyes at the figure heading towards them. “Genji, Angela, flank from the right. Hana, you keep your shields ready, in case he opens fire. Jesse, you stay behind Hana.

“I’ll flank from the left. Hopefully I can get the shot on him.” She instructed.

They all broke off into their divisions. Hana distracted Reaper with her missiles, which he had to revert to smoke form to dodge. Jesse, Hana, and Genji distracted him while Liz lined up a shot from behind. At the last minute, Reaper shouted into a mic, “Go for Ashe, LaCroix!”

Jesse’s heart plummeted. Liz was un sheltered, as she focused on getting her headshot. She pulled the trigger, but Reaper jumped and she caught him in the shoulder. Jesse watched in horror as Liz was hit from behind, and slumped to the ground.

Reaper retreated, and Jesse took off towards Liz. Widowmaker rappelled down on her grappling hook, also running to Liz. He was hit from the side as Reaper materialized from the right to tackle him to the ground. Widowmaker picked Liz up around the waist and grappled her way up to an airship. “No! Liz!” Jesse shouted, as the air was torn from him.

Reaper put a shotgun against his temple. “Don’t be stupid, McCree,” he rasped, “Call off your squad.”

Jesse refused, glaring up defiantly. “Call them off!” Reaper ordered again. “Ashe isn’t dead yet, but I have no problem changing that!”

He grit his teeth as he pushed the button on his comm. “Retreat back. They’ve got Liz as a hostage.” Jesse said reluctantly.

He heard shouts of protest on the other line, and Reaper grabbed the comm out of his ear and crushed it under his boot. “Stand up, with your hands up, McCree.” Reaper commanded, in a tone that suggested he was grinning under his mask.

Jesse knew he had to obey, if only for Liz’s sake. He stood up, raising his arms while Reaper took Peacekeeper. He was led to an airship, where Liz sat handcuffed to a seat, unconscious. Reaper pushed him down in a seat across from Liz. Widowmaker wordlessly snapped a handcuff across his wrists, as the airship took off, right as he saw out the window that Jack had arrived to the remains of their crew.


	6. Chapter 6

Jesse woke up in a cell. Metal everywhere, apart from Liz lying on a cot across from him. He sat up, blocked by a handcuff on his wrist, restraining him to his cot. Jesse sighed. He should have warned Liz quicker, then maybe Talon wouldn’t have two Overwatch members in their possession. A door hissed open, revealing Reaper and Moira.

“If only Genji were here,” Moira crooned, “It would be a Blackwatch reunion.”

Jesse laughed wryly. He glanced at Liz, Moira following his line of sight. “She won’t be harmed,” Moira said. “In fact, she’ll be honoured in Talon, as our newest operative.”

In a flash, Jesse threw himself forward, trying to get his wrist free. “You leave her alone!” He shouted. “She doesn’t have anything for you, no information, nothing! Liz’s only been in Overwatch a few months!”

Moira chuckled, unlocking the cell. “Maybe... but then, she does have something we want.” She stroked a strand of Liz’s brilliant white hair. Jesse felt his anger boil over and he lunged forward again. “She has you. You’re dedicated to each other. So I know you won’t leave without her.”

Jesse panted heavily. “What do you want? There are no plans, nothing! I’m begging you, Liz is innocent. Don’t use her to get back at Overwatch.”

Too quickly for Jesse to even comprehend, Reaper had materialised next to him. “We’re not messing with Overwatch.” He rasped. “Just you.”

Jesse felt the world go numb. This was his fault, he’d led Liz directly back to Talon. “I’ll join Talon! I-I’ll join willingly, just let her go!” He begged. Moira laughed.

“You remember Gérard LaCroix, yes? We’re going to make Elizabeth into our next Widowmaker. We’ll dump her at Overwatch again, she’ll tell them she escaped and you died, and then she’ll murder them all. You are not necessary for any part of that.”

He relaxed into his restraints, completely astonished. “We were friends, Moira, Reyes, _please.“_

Moira’s eyes softened in a familiar manner. She remembered Blackwatch, what they had before the Swiss Base Battle. Then, her face contorted in rage. “Overwatch took everything from me! My work, my license, my family! They’ll do the same to her, too, she isn’t part of their merry band of do-gooders, she’s their _weapon!_ I will take their weapon, and destroy them with it.” She hissed, losing her calm composure.

Moira collected herself, regaining her cool posture, maintaining her image of precision. “And now, I have Overwatch’s precious sharp shooter.”

She gestures for Reaper to leave, and he did. Like a predator, Moira stalked over to Jesse. “You never told me you wanted a cybernetic arm. I could give you another one. Maybe an implant, to improve your near-perfect aim.” She purred.

Jesse cringed. “If you just want me to be a science project, I’d rather you just kill me.” He snarked.

Moira grinned, drawing a syringe from her pocket. Jesse shifted away from her. “This is a memory loss drug. Created it myself. Causes the subject to lose all memory, making them completely programmable. Sure, they may get flickers, but they’ll cast them aside, in favor of what they have.” She said. “I can make Elizabeth my first test subject. It would be much quicker, and have much less resistance then traditional brainwashing.”

Jesse growled, and glared at her hotly. Moira smirked, pleased with his response, and slipped it back into her pocket. Now that she had leverage, Jesse would have to comply. She turned and stalked out the door, locking it behind her.

* * *

It had to have been hours. Liz shifted, but never woke up. Jesse had spotted a camera in the corner of the room. He made direct eye contact with it. “I need to make sure Liz is okay, please Moira.”

After a moment of silence, his restraints hissed open, and he practically threw himself to the other side of the room. Slowly, he sat Liz up, gently trying to rouse her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she put her palm to her head. “I guess we didn’t win, huh?”

“No, no we didn’t.” Jesse looked down cast.

Liz stood up, despite Jesse encouraging her to not, and walked around the cell. She immediately spotted the camera. Before Jesse could advise her to stop, she jumped up and yanked it down.

Jesse stared at her in open-mouthed shock, and she laughed. “Relax, I’ve got a plan.”

The door opened to reveal Widowmaker, holding her rifle and looking blank as a sheet of paper. “Hey, Amélie.” Liz called out. Widowmaker turned her head, still expressionless. “You remember your husband, Gérard?”

Widowmaker, while her face didn’t change, clearly remembered Gérard. “I never met him, but I woulda liked to. The files say he was a brilliant operative, and Captain Amari tells me all kinds of stories about him. He seemed like a really great person.

“Most importantly, he loved you. You were his world. Gérard love you, Amélie. And I know you loved him. Let us finish what Gérard started. Hell, come with us, if ya want. Overwatch isn’t turning down new heroes clearly, since they hired me.”

Liz paused, letting the emotionless Amélie absorb this. “Do it for Gérard.” Liz whispered.

Amélie gave her a sympathetic look, and wordlessly unlocked the cell. “I never saw anything, you were already gone.” She said, before exiting the room.

Jesse and Liz slipped out, and made their way to what looked like an exit. “You always were a negotiator, Liz.” Jesse complemented.

“I didn’t do anything, Amélie was still in there. I just coaxed her out a bit.” Liz said, as she pushed open a door to a room of drop ships.

“You know how to fly these?” Liz asked, gesturing to the fleet of ships.

“I hope so.” Jesse replies grimly.

They climbed into the cockpit of the nearest ship, and Jesse flicked an array of switches that he figured should turn it on. Beneath them, and engine roared to life, and slowly, they maneuvered their way out of the facility. Jesse got better at flying as they went, and successfully landed outside of base.

Liz and Jesse beamed as Liz smacked the button to open the door, only to be greeted by the entitreity of Overwatch, fully prepped to kick ass. Jesse and Liz jumped back hands raised. “Probably shoulda thought the while landing thing better, since this is a Talon ship,” Jesse noted.

Everyone lowered their weapons, and Jesse and Liz were rushed to the medbay for healing and to make sure no one had been brainwashed. As Jesse laid on the itchy white bed, he looked over at Liz. “I’m sorry I led you right back to ‘em.”

She scoffed. “You ain’t that important. They’ve been tryin’ to recruit Deadlock for about a year now, I guess they just got tired.” Liz shrugged off.

Jesse smiled to himself. Liz would never change, even if she had been brainwashed by a terrorist legion. She’d still find a way to sass Jesse.


	7. Chapter 7

Liz didn’t like people much when she was a kid. Antisocial, cold, calloused, however you wanted to say it, Liz didn’t like people. She made two exceptions: Jesse, and an ex-girlfriend of hers.

Of course, she didn’t like the ex-girlfriend now, thus the ‘ex.’ But then, she didn’t like Jesse for the longest time either. Jesse remembered Liz’s girlfriend. Liz was certain, she was the one. Honestly, by how much Liz talked about it, Jesse thought so, too.

Louise. That was her name. Louise was beautiful, and Liz loved her with all her heart. So much, in fact, that Liz never realized that Louise was using her for her wealth. Like Liz, Louise was a great actress. She put on a cutesy girlfriend act, and got Liz to pay for everything, all under the guise that Louise was just so in love.

When Liz introduces Louise to her parents, without exactly being out of the closet, they kicked her out. Naturally, she turned to her “loving girlfriend,” only to be cast aside, since she was without her fortune.

Liz didn’t react so normally to the breakup. Most sixteen year old girls would be heart broken, then angry, then probably be fine. Jesse didn’t know, he was never a sixteen year old girl.

But Liz, she didn’t do any of those things. She threw herself whole heartedly into whatever work she could get her hands on. School work, her side job as a waitress, heck, even crosswords in the paper. Liz built up walls so high, even she couldn’t keep them up. They came crashing down with the force of a meteor.

She smashed a tray over the head of an annoying patron at the diner, beat up several guys who catcalled her and Jesse to the point where they were hospitalized, stole, and got herself out in jail. Her parents bailed her out, but not before the last bit of her stability snapped. Liz left home again, and built up Deadlock gang with Jesse.

Eventually, Liz stopped being angry with everything and calmed down into her business persona. She became obsessed with remaining in control of everything she could control, though. Every plan, check book, weapon crate, was in its place. She must’ve reorganized the Deadlock house once every two weeks, because she just _had_ to.

When Jesse left, she must’ve been a terror to leave things out around.

Most importantly, she closed herself off to relationships apart from hers and Jesse’s. All relationships. She made certain to never fall into the trap of being in love again. Then again, that was some 15 years ago. So why on Earth was Liz crushing on Angela Ziegler?

It started out small, Angie would say something about her performance on the mission, or her daring escape from Talon, and Liz fell to pieces. Stuttering, blushing, the whole nine yards. And Liz was pasty, so she lit up like a Christmas tree.

When he asked her, she said it was “None of ya damn business, McCree,” which confirms exactly what Jesse was thinking. Boy, did he tease her. She was none to chuffed to have her meager love life picked at, so she did the natural thing: go tell Hanzo about embarrassing things Jesse had done.

“Once, he was messin’ around with a crate for some reason, I can’t remember,” Liz related ecstatically, “An’ someone nailed the lid shut! He sat in the crate for almost the entire day before Bob found him!

I could tell You volumes about how many times that dumbass has gotten punched for flirtin’ with some guy.”

Hanzo laughed, and Jesse sank down in his chair. This was probably his revenge for the glass door story. Right then, Angela and Genji came through the door, holding hand, beaming. They announced that they were officially dating. Everyone congratulated them, even Liz. She stood up with a big smile, hugged both Angela and Genji, and gave them both her congrats. An hour later, Jesse found her on the roof of the training facility, with her knees tucked up under her chin. “Hey,” he said, “I knew you were sweet on Angie, but don’t hate them for this, okay?”

She smiles blearily. “I ain’t hatin’ anybody. I’m over it.”

Jesse sat down next to her, and she flopped onto his shoulder. “You happen to know and single lesbians in Overwatch?” Liz asked, joking.

“I dunno. Tracer had a girlfriend, but then, it’s Tracer.”

Liz laughed. “Yeah, she’s a little energetic. Maybe I should not do any datin’ until we deal with Talon.”

Jesse smiled. A lot had changed in 15 years. So even though Liz is still a bit obsessive about her details, she was changing. Maybe one day, she would find someone who loved her as much as Jesse did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I teased some AsheXMercy, but I really wanted to focus on Lizzie’s person, not her relationship. Thanks for stopping by!  
> ~Lee


	8. Chapter 8

Being from a wealthy family has its perks. Not the money necessarily, since Liz got cut off after she ran away, but she did understand rich people well. So well, that she got a mission that would require her and Jesse to pose as a wealthy couple at a charity ball where they believe Talon would strike against a target for assassination. The target was some kind of philanthropist, who gave money to law enforcement. Someone paid Talon to take of them. And someone else tipped Overwatch off that it was happening.

Liz was put into an ankle-length red dress made out of some kind of expensive fabric. Liz didn't like dresses in general, they made her legs feel exposed, but _this_ particular dress had a split up the left side, leaving Liz's legs more exposed than she would've liked. Jesse had problems with his wardrobe, too; he wasn't allowed to wear his hat or his god-awful belt buckle. Liz hated that thing. So, there was that as a perk.

They arrived to the gala, checked in as the Jones, which somehow Winston had gotten them on the list. They weren't allowed to bring weapons in, but Tracer had hidden their weapons in a bush outside in a quiet courtyard. Now, they only had to wait for the blue-skinned assassin to show up.

While they sat at a table, drinking expensive wine that Liz knew Jesse despised while Liz kicked him to sit up straight because he was going to blow their cover, dumbass. A man came up to Liz, and asked her to dance. "Would the lady like to dance? You're far to beautiful to be a wall flower."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't right now. I'm here with my husband, you see?" She gestured to Jesse, who was across the room, talking to the host, probably for information.

He didn't relent. "What kind of husband leaves his gorgeous wife all alone at such a party? Come, we will show your husband what he is missing."

Something about this guy rubbed Liz the wrong way. He was saying nice things, but his tone irked her. She knew what he was after: a drunken affair that he though wouldn't get out thanks to her supposed place in society. Something similar had happened at one of her parent's functions. She know that rich people were too infallible to create scandal. which is what this guy was after. Liz plastered on a polite smile. "I really shouldn't, my darling James will be here any moment."

He snaked a hand around her waist, and Liz felt her skin crawl when he put his hands far too close to the split in her skirt. "Come on, dear, have another drink." He said in a tone that suggested that it was in her best interests to obey.

Liz wanted to lay this guy out, in front of everybody, and she knew she could. It would blow her cover. She couldn't risk the mission, so she pressed the distress button hidden on her bangle , to signal Jesse. She watched as he got the notification, then quickly scanned the ballroom for her. When he saw her in distress, he came rushing over, as fast as possible without attracting suspicion. "Is there a problem here?" He interjected.

The creep backed off. "You ought to watch your things better." He sneered, before stalking off.

Liz sat back down in her chair, sighing in relief. "You have no idea the amount of physical restraint I had to exercise just then."

"God, these rich people accents are hard to do." Jesse complained as he sat down next to her.

Liz laughed. "You mean, the average American accent? It's not that difficult."

Jesse grinned, taking another swig of wine. "You know me. I don't like to speak 'proper English.'"

Smiling, Liz resumed watch. A flurry of movement caught her eye. "I've got eyes on Widowmaker." She muttered into her com.

Jesse and her quietly exited the ballroom to retrieve their weapons. As opposed to her normal rifle, Liz had a small handgun that strapped around her thigh to avoid detection. Jesse just put Peacekeeper in his jacket pocket. In Liz's opinion, the biggest injustice of 2077 was that women never had pockets on their clothes. They went back into the ballroom, checking the window where Liz had spotter Widowmaker. "She's lining up a shot!" Jesse informed the strike team. "West window."

He drew and cocked Peacekeeper. Liz reached for the handgun. Painfully slowly, Widowmaker raised her weapon. They had to blow their cover, she was going to take the shot. Liz drew her weapon, and she and Jesse fired at Widowmaker. The crowd screamed, and dropped to the floor. Upon realizing that Overwatch knew exactly what was going on, she jumped away from the window. Liz and Jesse sprinted to where she had been, as Liz kicked off the heels that she'd been wearing. They spotted her blue skin, grappling up the side of a building. "She's on the bakery, Hanzo! You can get a shot on her!" Liz shouted, as Jesse and her ran down the street.

"On it." Hanzo's voice crackled through the tiny speaker. Liz watched as an arrow flew across the street, and a pained groan that suggested Hanzo hadn't missed. The airship landed on the roof top, picking up Widowmaker, as well as all the scouting operatives that Overwatch had deployed.

Back at headquarters, Widowmaker revealed that she expressed regret for her actions in the past, and wanted to te return to the safety of Overwatch. Angela agreed that she could stay, but she would stay in the medbay for two weeks, in case Talon was using her as a sleeper agent again. Liz visited her almost daily.

On the fifth day, Liz asked her what Talon had changed about. Widowmaker’s expression darkened. “They took away my ability to feel, and they lowered my heart rate.” She said finally.

Liz nodded. “I bet Dr. Ziegler could figure out how to fix it.”

Amélie turned away from her. “I... wanted to thank you. Honestly, with all the things Dr. O’Deorain did to me, I’d started to forget about Gérard. You reminded me.”

Liz beamed, and put her hand on Amélie’s. “Considering I almost wound up in the same boat as you, it’s nothin’.”

Amélie’s heart rate was returned to normal by Angela, and slowly, her skin became less blue. Over time, along with her skin looking like she’d finally thawed from an ice block, she also regained her capacity to feel. Her world slowly became more colorful, and she remembered feelings like joy, and rage. It was beautiful. Silently, she owed it all to Liz. It was because of her that Amélie made certain Overwatch received the tip leading up to her capture. She also pledged herself to aid Liz in her personal battle with Talon.

Her aim was still impeccable, so she began joining on missions. It felt good to be around the people that Gérard loved so dearly. She finally achieved clarity.


	9. Chapter 9

Liz knew no matter how many Talon operatives she decimated, she’d never be satisfied. These people weren’t a family like Deadlock was, so they’d never feel her pain. Thankfully, she’d started seeing a therapist so she could be less... controlling of her planning.

She was still grieving, and she would be for a long time, but for now, she had a new family. Her whole philosophy was based around loyalty and connection, probably since she’d been so deprived of it as a child. Now, with Overwatch, she could channel all her mania into protecting them. Making sure that Hana and Lúcio didn’t get into the candy stash, talking to Amélie about her new ability to feel, teasing Jesse in front of Hanzo... she loved every member of the team.

She knew she couldn’t avenge her past family, and couldn’t take revenge on her birth family, but she could protect her new family. And she would honestly rather die than have anything happen to any of them.

Liz popped her head into the medbay. “Hey Angela, can I have a few extra Advil? Headaches are comin’ back.” She asked.

Angela gave her a thumbs up and went to go grab the medicine. She came back, brandishing the small package. “I though they were better.”

“They were,” Liz explained, pushing a pill through the foil, “And then they weren’t. Maybe I’m just stressed about somethin’ else. It’s probably the next mission.”

Liz grabbed her water bottle and swallowed down the medicine, shoving the extra in her pocket. “What’s new with you, Doc?” She questioned.

Angela smiled bashfully, and worked on organizing supplies. “Well, Genji has been very sweet lately. Our three month anniversary is coming up.”

Liz clapped. “Ah, that sounds like fun.”

“By the way, who are you interested in romantically? I have my hand in some of the gossip pool, I’m certain I could set you up.” Angela suggested.

She shrugged. “I kinda like all people. Guy, girl, omnic, I’ll probably date ‘em.”

Angela winked, smirking. “I’ll let you know when I find something out.

She and Angela laughed, then Liz waved, and said she was needed at the planning meeting. Liz speed walked down the hall, she didn’t like being late. She scanned her wrist and the door slid open, with Jack, Ana, Winston, and Reinhardt sitting around the table, with a map spread out across it.

“So what’s the target?” Liz asked, ready to get down to business.

“Jack Cooper. He’s a Talon informant, we’re going to shut him down.” Jack filled her in.

She gaped. “You’re shitting me.”

“Profanity.” Ana warned. Liz quickly apologized.

“Sorry, he, um... he was in Deadlock. Whenever I was in charge.” She explained. Liz hesitated. “Did he sell us out to Talon?”

Jack sighed, lowering himself down into his chair. “Unfortunately, it looks like he’s been feeding them information about your weapons deals for about a year. It’s plausible he told them you had connections with McCree, and they decided to try and make you a Talon operative.”

She clenched her fist. This-This _traitor_ had ruined her family. Liz knew this mission had to succeed. Reinhardt spoke up. “Now, I think we can turn him to a double agent—”

“No.” Liz interrupted. “You can’t. I know Cooper, he won’t work for Overwatch. No matter what deal you offer him, he thinks Talon can top it. He’d been singin’ their praises for months, insisting Talon is the next superpower.”

Reinhardt nodded. “Okay, so we take him into custody, and then what? Turn him over to the authorities? We aren’t exactly in their good graces right now.”

“We could always just detain him here.” Ana mused.

“That won’t work, we don’t have those kinds of resources. Maybe we could leave an anonymous tip for someone to come pick him up.” Jack said.

The table agreed that would be the best course of action if they succeeded. Then came the matter of how they would get close to him.

“He’s heavily guarded,” Ana explained, pointing to the entry points on the map. “We'll have to be stealthy, because he keeps Talon updated in everything. One slip, and Talon will be there to counter us. I don’t think we can take his crew and Talon at the same time.”

Jack turned to Liz. “What do you think?”

Liz considered the map carefully. “This one.” She pointed to a door on the map. “It’s the furthest from the others, so less noise. Once inside, hopefully if anyone gets suspicious we can use one of their own comma against them to get them to lower their guard.

“There will be cameras, so we’ll get someone to disable those. Who do you think can handle that?”

“I’ll ask Winston what he can do.” Reinhardt said.

“I think we’re getting somewhere.” Liz drawled, smirking.

* * *

As per usual, Liz was a great planner. They got in easily, and Winston zapped cameras with his cannon as they went. The crew consisted of Liz, Mei-Ling, Hanzo, Winston, Lúcio, and Ana.

When some guards rounded the corner, Mei-Ling was able to freeze them before they could react. The team crept closer to where they thought Cooper was.

Liz kicked open the door, where Cooper as well as some other Talon representatives in suits sat around a table. “Miss me?” Liz snarked, while Ana sleep darted everyone but Cooper.

Liz kept Viper trained on Cooper, who nervously put his hands up. “H-Hey boss, how-how ya doin’?”

She laughed dryly. “I really hope you know exactly what you did.”

He smirked. “Sorry I ended your little fantasy, but you weren’t cut out to lead. You’re just a rich bitch playin’ outlaw—”

Cooper never got to finish his sentence, because Liz put a bullet through the top of the cowboy hat on his head. She glared down at him coldly. “Maybe I wasn’t cut out to lead. But no one _ever_ calls me a “rich bitch.””

“Whoo! Let’s go Ashe!” Lúcio hollered behind her. She grinned as she put Cooper in handcuffs and walked him out of the building.

They dumped him at an abandoned warehouse, and gave the authorities a tip. Before they left, Liz bent down to make eye level with Cooper. “Why did you betray Deadlock?”

He spat. “Please. It was a den of weapons traffickers led by some little girl prancing around livin’ out some stupid fantasy because her parents didn’t love her enough. Grow up, Ashe, you didn’t have it ‘rough’ like the rest of us. Hell, you had it easy. You’re just a bitch.”

Liz stood up and straightened out her hat. “Maybe I did have it easy. Doesn’t mean I was happy. Deadlock was my family, and it was yours too. But you’re a traitorous coward.” She turned around and walked away. “In the end, you may have beat Deadlock, but you’re still goin’ to prison. So who really won, Coop?” She shut the door behind her and got into the transport.

“How are you doing?” Ana asked, putting a reassuring hand on Liz’s shoulder.

Liz smiled widely. “Never been better.”

* * *

Hanzo visites Liz’s room to invite her to Game Night with him, Jesse, and a few other people from the team. It was definitely her scene; loud, rough, and occasionally a fight broke out because some one stole someone else’s hotel in monopoly or Jesse made himself the banker in Life and kept on scamming people to make it more “realistic.”

The door opened with a whoosh. Her room was dark, and she was flipped across her bed. “Hey Hanzo.” She greeted weakly.

“Another migraine?”

“Yeah, the aspirin ain’t doin’ it for me anymore. Damn Talon, screwing up my day...”

“We’re having game night tonight, would you like to join us?”

Liz pushed herself into a sitting position. “Yeah, sure, what’re we playin’?”

“I think it is Settlers of Catan tonight.” Hanzo said.

Liz told him she’d join in if her migraine let up in time. Hanzo shut the door to let her rest in darkness and went back to Jesse’s room.

“I’m worried about Elizabeth. Her migraines are getting more and more frequent, and it is affecting her work. She doesn’t let anything affect her work.”

Jesse sighed. “I’m worried, too. Angela doesn’t find anything wrong with her head, though, so we should probably just wait it out.”

Hanzo sat down on the bed next to Jesse and put his head against Jesse’s chest. Jesse wrapped his arms around Hanzo, and Hanzo gently kissed Jesse’s chin. Jesse pulled Hanzo into his lap and kissed him back. Right then and there, Winston opened the door that Hanzo forgot to lock and Hanzo scrambled off of Jesse’s lap.

“I’m, uh, sorry to interrupt—” Winston said, “but have either of you seen Miss Elizabeth?”

“Yes, I just saw her in her room. She has a migraine.” Hanzo told him.

Winston fidgeted. “She’s, um, not there anymore. Genji checked.”

Jesse stood up and headed out of the room. “Liz might be sulking on the roof about somethin’. I’ll go look in her hiding spots.”

Winston nodded and Jesse went off to look. He turned back to Hanzo. “You don’t think she’s... lost control?” Hanzo asked in a hushed whisper.

“I didn’t want to worry McCree.” Winston explained. “Amélie said she used to get migraines, too.”

Hanzo put his fingers against his temples. “We should have everyone do a roll call, just in case.”

No one reported anything suspicious, or any signs of Ashe. She’d disappeared. Winston checked the camera footage.

Unbeknownst to Jesse, there were a few extra cameras set up around Ashe’s room, with motion sensors that came on at night. Overwatch figures she was fine, but there was no harm in double checking. The footage revealed that she walked out of her room and into the medbay, so Hanzo and Angela rushed there to see if she was still there.

Ashe was standing in the middle of the room, still as a statue, without her weapon or hat. Like Jesse, she never went anywhere without her hat. In her right hand, something metal glinted in the low light. “Elizabeth?” Hanzo calles out.

She didn’t react. Ana came in with her sleep darts, knowing that is Ashe had truly lost control, they would have to sedate her she was completely dead to the world.

After a moment, she turned around. She was holding a sharp pair of Angela’s medical scissors in her hand. Her lips moved, but the words were not her own. “Return Amélie.” Said the unfamiliar tone.

“Who is this?” Angela demanded.

“Retune Amélie to Talon headquarters.” She said again.

Hanzo snarled. “Release Ashe at once!”

Ashe’s face remained blank. “Return Amélie or Ashe will die.” She moves the scissors with the blade to her neck.

Hanzo and Angela steppes back. “Listen, please don’t—”

Angela’s plea was cut short as a dart flew across the room, hitting Ashe in her arm. Ana. She slumped to the floor, unconscious and unharmed.

Hanzo and Angela rushed over to her, Hanzo grabbing the scissors and casting them aside. They moved her to a bed, where someone restrained her so if she did wake up, she couldn’t leave. She woke up an hour later, thrashing wildly. Angela calmed her down enough that they could make sure she was actually Ashe. “What do you mean, is this Ashe? Of course it is why wouldn’t—”

It clicked. “I lost control again. Those-those damn migraines were tellin’ me somethin’ an’ I ignored it—”

“Ashe, calm down,” Angela said. “Nothing happened. No ones hurt. Talon is losing their grip on your mind, as you’re healing. It won’t be long before they can’t harm you at all” She began undoing her restraints.

“How long, Angela?”

“We don’t know for sure.”

“Then wh-what are we supposed to do? Wait for me to hurt, or _kill_ someone? I can’t even remember what happened, I was layin’ in the dark and then I was here, I can’t stop it!” Ashe's breathing increased as more and more anxieties ran through her head.

“What do we do if not everyone’s a light sleeper like Jesse, or Winston’s cameras miss something?”

Hanzo gently grabbed her wrists. “Nothing will happen. Nothing happened this time, and nothing ever will.” He reassured.

Ashe was silent for a while. “Does Jesse know?” She asked.

Hanzo shook his head and Ashe relaxed. “Nobody tell him yet, please? I wanna let him know what’s been goin’ on myself.”

* * *

Jesse was terrified when Liz told him. Later that evening Hanzo told him that she hadn’t threatened any Overwatch operatives, but herself. Talon wanted their best assassin back, really badly.

The next morning at breakfast, Liz eyes the plastic knives warily. She never got them anymore, in case she lost control. Now, Liz hardly touched anything that could be deadly for extended amounts of time. She didn’t want to risk anything. Explosives, her own gun, debris with sharp edges, she avoided. It was stupid, but she didn’t take risks like that anymore.

Sleeping also became a stranger to her. Sleep was when they got to her. If she felt drowsy, she snapped a rubber band against her wrist as a reminder that she was a ticking time bomb. Jesse was worried, but Jesse always worried about her when she pushed herself too hard. It was fine, everyone was fine.

She spent all hours of her day planning. Outdated emergency protocols, drills, strategy, anything that took her mind off of her anxiety. Then, she passed out from exhaustion.

Liz had been training with Hanzo and Jesse, laughing and cracking jokes. She lined up to take her turn at the target, hit three bulls-eyes, then collapsed. When she came to in the medbay, she asked if she’d lost control again. Angela furrowed her brow. “You passed out in the middle of training, we shouldn’t be worrying about that.”

Liz sighed and sat back on the bed. Angela could tell she was anxious about the whole Talon deal. “If it makes you feel better, your MRI’s show that the brainwashing is losing effect on you. Amélie said that when Talon lost it’s hold on her, she started sleeping more. I think you just need rest.”

“Yeah, but then if I’m not un-brainwashed, then that’s when they strike! I’ll just wait it out.” Liz said.

Angela glared. “You go to sleep, Elizabeth Ashe.”

“Yes Ma’am.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert: cheesy as hell.

Dating was not easy in an illegal, crime fighting, international defense organization. Lucky for Jesse, his partner was in Overwatch with him, so they could always be together.

Jesse and Hanzo had date night semi-regularly. About once every two weeks, they snuck a little extra food out of the kitchen and sat on the roof, watching the sunset. It was cheesy as hell, and Jesse wouldn’t have it any other way. Tonight would be this weeks date night, and he knew Hanzo was looking forward to it. It was a nice break from the growing concerns about Liz being a sleeper agent. She clearly wasn’t, but was always freaked out about nothing.

Jesse climbed through ladder to the roof, where Hanzo was waiting with two plates of mediocre cafeteria food. Somehow, he’s managed to sneak a bottle of wine and some glasses, too. “Darlin’, you are honestly the best.” Jesse said, kissing Hanzo firmly on the lips.

Hanzo chuckled and patted for Jesse to sit down next to him. “We have needed a bit of time to ourselves, the world can wait to be save until tomorrow.”

He pouted two generous glasses of wine, and the clinked their glasses together. Jesse sighed in relief. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Hanzo.”

“Yes, yes you are.” Hanzo joked.

Jesse laughed, taking another sip of wine. They chatted leisurely, while dining on the chicken pot pie from the cafeteria. “Do you remember when we met?” Hanzo asked.

Jesse smiled. “Yeah, you had just joined Overwatch and Genji introduced us.”

“And you asked me “What’s Shimada with you?”” Hanzo finished.

“It was too perfect to resist.”

Hanzo smiled to himself. “I must confess, I’m not the best partner for you—”

“That is a damnable lie.”

“But I thank you, for putting up with me. And, I would like to ask you,” Hanzo reaches into his pocket. “If you’d put up with me for the rest of our lives.”

Jesse covered his mouth as Hanzo produced a black, felt box from his pocket. “Will you marry me, Jesse McCree?”

* * *

The next morning, Jesse showed up to an early morning meeting looking rather chipper. He sat down next to Liz like normal, and she studied him. “Okay, Dr. Ziegler made me go to sleep last night, so I can definitely tell that somethin’s up. Are you drunk?” She questioned.

Jesse just smiled at her. Liz groaned. “Come on, you gotta give me a hint.”

“Just you wait a minute, Elizabeth.”

“Oh lord, he’s callin’ me Elizabeth, it’s official, McCree’s lost it.”

Hanzo and Jesse were acting suspicious, and whenever Jack stalked into the room, he announced. “Okay, Hanzo texted me at like 3am that he needs to say something, so do the thing.”

Hanzo and Jesse stood up holding up their hands, which now sparkled with silver engagement rings. “We’re engaged!” Hanzo announced joyfully.

The entire table was so excited, giving their congratulations to the couple. Liz hugged them both, whispering to Hanzo, “You take good care of him, ya hear?”

“I would not dream of anything less.” He whispered back.

Jack managed to calm down the team, smiling himself, saying, “As exciting as this is, we do still have a meeting today. So, we should probably get to out first topic...”

* * *

A week had passed since the engagement. Wedding planning was pretty limited, but all in all, it would be a wonderful celebration for the entire team. Liz helped out loads, by picking up extra missions so that Jesse and Hanzo could plan and spend time together, and a Genji was either incredibly helpful or incredibly stressful.

Jesse pulled Liz aside after one of her patrols. “I have a very important question, Liz.”

“Yeah, shoot.”

He took a deep breath. “Will you give me away at the wedding?”

Liz was stunned into silence. “Y-You want me to g-give you away?”

She lunged forward, hugging Jesse tightly. “It would be an honor.” She whispered.

Liz sniffled. “Are you cryin’?”

 _“No._ I got somethin’ in my eye...”

Jesse laughed quietly. “I love you, too.”

She wiped her eyes. “Why me? I mean, I’m honored you did, but why? You’re much closer to Commander Morrison, or Captain Amari.”

“I want my family to give me away. You’re like my sister, Lizzie.”

Liz punched him lightly in the arm. “You dumbass, you know exactly how to make me cry.” She joked. Jesse chuckled, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re gettin’ married.”

He sighed. “I can’t either. Honestly, I’m amazed I didn’t die yet, either on a mission or my own stupidity.”

She put her head on his shoulder. “We’re tough. Nothin’ takes us down, from evil terrorist organizations to glass doors an’ roller skates.”

They sat together in silence, letting their words resonate for a bit. “Tell me about Reyes. I didn’t get to meet him, but you sound like you really liked him.”

Jesse sucked in his breath. He didn’t want Liz to think bad of Reyes, before he died and became Reaper. “He was like Genji and I’s dad. Reyes was tough, but it was out of compassion. He pushed us because he didn’t want anythin’ to happen to us on missions. Reyes died during the Swiss Base Battle.”

“He sounds wonderful. Why isn’t his picture up in the hall of heroes? I saw Gérard LaCroix’s picture, and some other leaders, but his isn’t there.”

“He and Jack... they didn’t get along well in the end. Jack got a promotion that he was passed over for, and it created a rift between ‘em. Then, the infighting started. I got out a few months before the battle. Everyone thought they both died, but clearly, nothin’ can kill Jack.” He explained cautiously. Jesse knew the wheels were turning in Liz’s head, figuring out what had happened. His response must have satisfied her, because she didn’t bring it up anymore.

She stood up and helped him up, bidding him a good night. There was still a world to save tomorrow, and Liz had to sleep, regardless if she wanted to or not.

* * *

The door remained locked at night. Liz didn’t want anything getting out, particularly herself, if she was taken over by Talon. Bob set the passcode, so there was no way she could get out, and in the morning, if she was still herself, then Bob would let her out. She depressed the button on her robotic gauntlet, removing it and setting it aside. It came off with a hiss, exposing the deep burns and scars along her arm.

She’d gotten them in a bad explosion, a job gone wrong. The gauntlet helped protect them, as well as strengthen her damaged arm. To her, it didn’t represent injury, it represented that any damage sustained would only build her up.

Liz stopped and considered her cybernetic. Why couldn’t she do the same with her damaged mind? Use it as her way to advance herself, show that she wasn’t afraid? She decided that sleep would be like the cybernetic of her mind. Let Talon come, there were measures in place to protect Overwatch.

Sleep claimed her mind, and she let herself be claimed, secure in the knowledge that all was well in the world. At least, in her world.

* * *

The day of the wedding fast approached. Liz helped Jesse with his suit in his room, where he was in the verge of a mental break down. “No, Jesse, Hanzo said no cowboy hats at the ceremony. You can wear it after.” She reminded.

“I know, but it’s all just so crazy. I’m getting _married._ I’m not cut out to be married to anybody, least of all Hanzo!” Jesse protested. Liz clicked her tongue and started looping his bow tie around his neck.

“Please, you are one hundred percent husband material, now quit whining. It’s your wedding day, be excited! You love Hanzo, and he loves you.” She comforted while tying the bow tie. Liz gestured with flourish to the mirror. “Now don’t you look handsome? See, husband material!”

Jesse fidgeted with his suit, and Liz smacked his hands down. “Leave it, you look fine!”

She adjusted her own suit, light grey with a blue tie. Her cybernetic had been discarded for the event, leaving her burn uncovered. Jesse looked down at her arm, then at his own cybernetic with sadness. Liz noticed. “Lizzie, I’m not perfect by any means. What do I have to offer to a relationship?”

Liz grabbed his face and pulled him to meet her eyes. “Don’t you ever say that again, Jesse McCree.” She snapped. Her tone was harsh, but her eyes were caring. “You are by far the most funny, charismatic man I have ever met. Hanzo is lucky to have you.”

Jesse smiled, and she pulled him towards the door. “Come on, ceremony starts soon.” She encouraged.

Genji would walk Hanzo down the aisle first, then Liz would go with Jesse. Commander Morrison was officiating, since no one in Overwatch was a priest, unless Zenyatta counted, since he a was a monk. The music started, and Hanzo and Genji walked down first.

“That’s our cue.” Liz whispered to Jesse, giving him an encouraging smile. He took a deep breath.

“Let’s go get me hitched.”

* * *

Receptions were always the best place to either hook up or get drunk, in Liz’s opinion. She would be in her best behavior, since she promised Hanzo not to ruin his big day. Genji stood up to give his speech.

“As the best man, it is my job to thoroughly embarrass my brother, so I fully intend to do that right now!” Hanzo put his head in his hands as Genji took out his notecards, already a little tipsy. “First and foremost, Hanzo is a huge romantic!” Genji bellowed. Hanzo flopped down on the table, while Jesse patted his back, laughing.

“He will never admit it, but he know that I found his stack of terrible romance novel that he used to hide in his room! Twilight, Hanzo, really?” The crowd laughed, while Genji continued.

At the end of his speech, he raised his glass. “To Hanzo and Jesse, may you both be happy and your marriage joyful.” He finished.

The team all collectively raised their glasses, shouting, “To Hanzo and Jesse!”

Liz grinned as she down a glass full of champagne. “Now let’s get lit!” She yelled, and the group cheered.

* * *

After the ceremony, Genji had to walk a drunken, giggling Liz back to her room. “Okay, Elizabeth, you must sleep now.” He explained as Liz unlocked her door.

“Yeah, yeah. If you see Hanzo before I get up from my hangover, tell him he’s a good dude. I forgot and got wasted, and then they disappeared to go do newlywed things.” She said, before stumbling into her room.

Genji sighed. He’d cleared his body of alcohol earlier, since he was part cyborg. Someone had to make sure Liz didn’t try to hook up with anyone or start a fight. He walked back to his and Angela’s room.

He got into bed next to his sleepy girlfriend, kissing her on the head before turning out the lights. Genji sat in the dark alone with his thoughts, before falling asleep.

He was awakened abruptly, by the breach alarm blaring overhead. Genji and Angela scrambled out of bed, grabbing their weapon and running out into the hall. Everyone else was also in the hall, weapons in hand, prepared to neutralize a threat.

The alarm stopped. Ana silently motioned for the group to move out of the hallway, and search for what had set the alarm off. Genji saw Liz with the group, so it wasn’t her. Amélie was still there, too, so it wasn’t a sleeper agent.

Ana rounded a corner, weapon poised, only to be thrown back by a black mass. She cried out as she hit the wall, slumped down at the bottom. Reinhardt drew his shield, bracing for attack. Reaper emerged from the corridor, black smoke flicking around him. “How rude, no one invited me to the wedding.” He rasped.

Reaper ran one of his talons along the wall, leaving a deep scratch. “You all need a lesson in decorum, not even bothering to put my picture up in the Hall of Fallen Heroes. Then again, I didn’t fall, I rose.”

It clicked for Liz. “You!” She shouted. “You’re Gabriel Reyes!”

He laughed sinisterly. “None of you told her? Tsk, tsk.”

Liz stormed forward, past Reinhardt's shield. “Elizabeth, no!” He called out, but his orders fell on deaf ears.

Reaper chuckled as she stalked towards him. Her gun was held at her side, so she wasn’t making an attack. “You, know,” she started, “Jesse spoke highly of you.”

Reaper froze, deciding his next course of action. Liz continued. “Yeah, he said you were like a father to him and Genji. He even spared you the shame, saying you died in the Swiss Base Battle. But then, I suppose you did die.”

The short woman glared up at the man who was at least 10 inches taller than her, but her presence was more powerful than his. “You are unworthy of bearing Gabriel Reyes’ name. All the tales, and the files, all of them dictate Gabriel Reyes as a fine, upstanding soldier. But you,” She scoffed. “You’re a bitter old man in a mask.”

Reaper seemed frozen by her cutting words. Genji chimed in, “You are not the man who trained me!”

“You don’t deserve to be called Reyes! Reyes was our friend!” Tracer added.

Slowly, more and more member of Overwatch added their voice to the chorus of renouncing Reaper. He backed down, his determination dwindling, and more and more operatives drew their weapons against him.

Outnumbered, he fled without a single person having to fire a weapon. Somehow, they’d shamed Reaper out of the base. It was only a matter of time before he returned, but Liz had bought them some time while he licked his wounds.

She was trembling. It made since, Reaper had taken her sense of self from her when he had Moira mess with her head, but she was smiling. Liz wasn’t afraid of herself any more.

Ana was taken to the medbay to recover from her concussion, and Angela went to go heal her. Genji went looking for Liz.

He found her, helping to block up an entrance, to make sure Reaper didn’t bring more Talon operatives back. “It was impressive.” Genji said, “Getting Reaper to back down is no easy feat.”

“I know what it’s like to hold a grudge. There are always sore spots, things that can either make or break your resolve.” She explained, shrugging.

Genji knew she was smiling, as she blocked off a door. He was too, Reyes was a sore spot on his own spirit, but he now knew he was truly gone.

Overwatch all slept a little bit better that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da! It’s done. Was it cheesy? Yes. Was it chock full of errors? Yes. Was the omit all over the place? Yes. Maybe it was cliche to end with a wedding and confrontation, but I’m basic.
> 
> Go easy on me, I’m still new at this. Thanks for sticking around! ~Lee


End file.
